Abstract
The Problem. School finance in California has been so erratic over the past decade that superintendents have had to turn to all possible resources to generate income. Two possible resources are land and facilities. This descriptive study chronicles the initial efforts of school officials to generate income from these assets. The study describes the uses to which land and facilities were put; the decision processes districts used to determine the uses of these assets; the legal, economic, and political constraints districts faced in converting these assets to income properties; the methods by which constraints were overcome; the skills district administrators needed for this new entrepreneural role. Research Methodology. A semi-structured interview was conducted on a population consisting of a stratified random sample of elementary, high school and unified school districts in Orange County, California. Data from the interviews were presented in a narrative manner. Findings. (1) Districts can increase their income through the sale or lease of land and facilities; however, there are many restrictions regarding the use of the income. (2) While the State Education Code places certain constraints on decision-making processes, each district modified the process to meet their own local political needs. (3) All districts had specific economic, legal and political constraints and met them in a manner which was satisfactory to the local community. (4) The major skills top administrators used for this entrepreneural role were the skills they used for other aspects of their job. Conclusions and Recommendations. (1) The use of excess land and facilities affords districts a means of increasing district income. The structuring of a dynamic decision process which recognizes the constraints of the local environment is key to the success of this activity. (2) The constraints faced on this activity are timebound and change as the environmental context of a local community changes. The political constraints are the most diverse and most difficult for top administrators to address. (3) There is no discernable difference between the size or type of district and the processes they developed, constraints they met or methods they used to overcome constraints. (4) Future studies should be made to continue to describe this new financial activity. State and local school boards and school administrator associations should offer programs on the use of excess land and facilities to generate income.